Out of the Bottle: Bohemian Kölsch

My Bohemian Kölsch has reached maturity and is ready to pour. The final numbers yielded a 1.008 Final Gravity and a light 4.9% ABV. The ABV is actually a touch higher than my target. But as I've stated before, Qbrew regularly predicts higher Final Gravities than what I end up with. In the future, I'll be compensating for that discrepancy in my recipes.

As you can see from the photo, the beer pours a bright gold, with a dense white head. Clarity is about as good as you're going to get from an unfiltered, bottle-conditioned beer. The head slowly falls to a thin blanket of foam and leaves a healthy amount of lace in its wake.

My goal of melding a Kölsch with a Bohemian Pils seems to have worked. The big picture is a beer that's crisp and refreshing. The nose is dominated by pepper, lemon and fresh cut grass. The beer isn't a lager, so there is a touch of fruitiness from the yeast as well. In the mouth, a light honey sweetness gets things going. Bitterness comes on fast with the spicy kick I expect from Saaz hops. The bitterness level is just right for a good Pils. It lingers into the finish. The beer's body is light and has the vigorous carbonation I wanted.

Overall, I'm extremely pleased with this one. The beer mashes the two styles together, just like I had hoped for. Between me, family and friends, I think this one will be gone quickly. It's perfect for mowing the lawn, gardening, or just hanging out in the shade on a hot day.

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